By Brannon King / For the FCT

The Russellville varsity volleyball team had a busy week on the court with nine matches over the course of seven days.

The week got started for the Lady Golden Tigers with a trip to Belgreen for a tri-match against the Bulldogs and Marion County. Russellville swept Belgreen 2-0 with game scores of 25-20 and 25-15. Krista Sikes had five assists for RHS, and Kaitleen Arzola had five kills. Lexie Glass had four blocks, and Briana Ramirez had 10 digs.

Earlier in the day, Russellville defeated Marion County 2-1 by scores of 14-25, 25-19 and 16-14. Josie Willis had seven assists for Russellville, while Briley Gillespie had eight kills and Ramirez had 13 digs. Arzola added three blocks, 10 digs and 10 kills.

Sept. 13, the Golden Tigers hosted the West Point Warriors in a big area game. RHS took the exciting match 3-0 by scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-23.

The Lady Golden Tigers improved their record at the time to 5-5 on the season and 2-0 in Class 5A, Area 14. “We’ve been working hard, and I’ve been begging the girls to play like they are capable of playing, and it came together,” said RHS head coach Whitney Glover. “Now, they know what it feels like, and they know they can do it.”

Arzola had 12 kills, seven blocks and 20 digs. Gillespie had eight blocks, seven digs and four kills, while Treyvia Pruitt added nine kills, 10 digs and a block. Glass had four kills, seven blocks and two digs, and Ramirez had 21 digs. Callie Palmer had seven kills for RHS, and Brooklyn Wells had six. Willis added 17 assists for Russellville, and Sikes helped out with 13. Alivia Clemmons also had 14 digs in the victory.

The First Metro Tournament was held Saturday, and RHS found the going to be tough. Russellville dropped matches to Central (1-2), West Morgan (0-2), Briarwood (1-2) and Gardendale (0-2).

Monday evening the Russellville team traveled to West Point to take on the Lady Warriors and Good Hope. RHS fell this time to West Point by scores of 14-25, 23-25 and 11-25.

The Golden Tigers also fell in their match against Good Hope by scores of 16-25, 25-13 and 13-15.